Also this issue: Holiday Gift Guide -Debra Auspitz Shiny & New -Nancy Armstrong, Debra Auspitz, Deborah Bolling, Daniel Brook, Juliet Fletcher, Lori Hill, Frank Lewis, Ted Mann, Patrick Rapa and David Warner Birthday Presents The gift-giving big leagues are on display at the Art Museum. -Debra Auspitz Home on the Range Wrappers Delight It's all about the presentation. -Juliet Fletcher Box It Up Why buy one cd when you can have a whole set? -A.D. Amorosi, Nate Chinen, Jesse Delaney and Patrick Rapa Get Game Five picks for video game gift-giving. -Frank Lewis and Chris Newborg Technically Speaking -Ted Mann, Chris Newborg and Patrick Rapa

November 21-27, 2002

cover story

Discs for Your List

DVDs that won't disappoint.

by Sam Adams

Whats about 5 inches by 7 inches, wrapped in paper and basically unexciting? A DVD, of course. Im on record as saying that DVD players are the greatest invention since the polio vaccine, but theres something about that utterly predictable shape that fails to quicken the pulse. (The same problem arises with compact discs.) Thats not to say that a DVD cant make a satisfying gift, but there had better be something pretty unusual under that giftwrap.

The easiest way to avoid telegraphing your gift is by shelling out for more than one disc (or buying something in an irregular package, like Total Recall in its Mars-shaped tin). The double-disc "special edition" has become something of a rote exercise, often with little to justify the second disc beyond the increase in price. Warner Bros.' Singin' in the Rain twofer is a delightful exception, and a safe bet for anyone who even pretends to love movies. For the more serious-minded, check out Criterion's two-disc editions of 8 1/2, Down by Law and Children of Paradise (OK, the last needs two discs just to hold the movie), or surprise a fan of early cinema and Teutonic excess with Kino's Die Nibelungen, which collects Fritz Lang's version of Wagner's Ring cycle. For the perpetual adolescent in your life, round up the two-disc versions of Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction and Jackie Brown. If two discs still aren't enough, there's always the four-disc The Fellowship of the Ring set, which provides enough extra footage, commentaries and extras to see you through all 12 days of Christmas.

The repackaging of TV shows on DVD arguably got a little out of hand this year. (Is anybody really yearning to rewatch the first season of Felicity?) But for any fan who's searched the Internet for tapes of a favorite show or winced at the way old episodes are hacked up in reruns, the chance to watch pristine versions at your leisure is a little bit of a godsend. Even a show as popular as The Simpsons gets trimmed for syndication, so having the complete first two seasons (with complete audio commentary, no less) is a boon to any fan. Buffy and The Sopranos collected some of their best seasons this year, and any Gen Y-er worth her salt will swoon at the knowledge that all of My So-Called Life is up for sale, and in a lunchbox, yet. (Viewers of a certain age might cotton instead to Band of Brothers, six discs packaged in their own little tin.) Yes, The West Wing is definitively in the shitter, but you can soothe the heartbreak with the complete Sports Night -- sure, it just proves that Aaron Sorkin is fond of cannibalizing his own work, but at least no episode ever centers around a lucky tie. And no alt-comedy-loving household is complete without the first two seasons of Mr. Show or the complete The Young Ones. And for the wiseass who has everything, head on over to Comedy Central's website, where you can pick up not only the complete first season of South Park, but audio CDs containing the audio commentaries Warner Bros. deleted from the set. (They're free with purchase through the site; you can pick them up for proof-of-purchase and a few bucks.)

Failing all that, or for those on a tight budget, seek out a movie they can discover, not just watch for the 18th time. I recently lent a friend with a busted leg a couple dozen discs and was delighted when he wrote me he'd most enjoyed Monte Hellman's Cockfighter, which I'd thrown on his pile at the last second. Movies like Beau Travail, Code Unknown and Lumumba shot through theaters so fast you can't blame people who missed them, and even historically minded cinephiles may not be aware of Vanya on 42nd St. or The Long Goodbye. Just be sure you know your recipient, and keep the receipt, since choosing movies for other people is a risky business at best. You never know which of your nearest and dearest is just itching to own Orange County.